“Thank You Canada” – Robert Meadows (Circuit Court Judge, Florida)

Here is one American’s take on the growing trade war with the US and Canada.

“Have you ever stopped to consider how lucky we Americans are to have the neighbors we have? Look around the globe at who some folks have been stuck with sharing a border for over half-a-century:

North Korea / South Korea

West Germany / East Germany

Greece / Turkey

Iran / Iraq

Israel / Palestine

India / Pakistan

China / Russia

We’ve got Canada! Canada. About as inoffensive a neighbor as you could ever hope for. In spite of all our boasts of “American exceptionalism” and chants of “America first”, they just smile, do their thing and go about their business.

They are on average more educated, have a higher standard of living, free health care, and almost no gun problems. They treat immigrants respectfully and already took in over 35,000 Syrians in the last two years.

They’re with us in NATO, they fought alongside us in World War I, World War II, Korea, the Gulf War, the Bosnian War, Afghanistan, the Kosovo War and came to our defense after 9/11. There was that one time when Canada took a pass on one of our wars: Vietnam. Turned out to be a good call.

They’ve been steady consumers of American imports, reliable exporters of metals and petroleum products (they are the biggest importer of U.S. products from 37 states), and partnered with NASA in our space missions.

During 911 many aircraft were diverted to Newfoundland, an island province off Canada’s east coast where Americans were housed in people’s homes for two weeks and treated like royalty. In return for their hospitality, this administration slapped a 20% tariff on the products of Newfoundland’s only paper mill, thereby threatening it’s survival.

And what do Canadians expect of us in return? To be respected for who and what they are: Canadians. That’s what I call a good neighbor.

But the King of Chaos couldn’t leave well enough alone. Based on his delusions of perpetual victimhood, out of the clear blue, he’s declared economic war on Canada. OH CANADA! And he did it based on Canada being a national security risk to the USA! For no good reason, other than the voices in his head that told him it was a war he could win. So, why not do it, then?

Trump went ahead and imposed his tariffs on aluminum and steel even though we have a trade surplus with Canada on those products! Trudeau retaliated in kind. And now this morning, the White House is preparing a new wave of tariffs in retaliation for Trudeau’s retaliation. This time he threatens a tariff on automobiles even though 70% of their components originate in the U.S.A.! It’s just a temporary spat, right? Except for that smile on Vladimir’s face in the Kremlin, as the NATO pact unravels a little more with each passing day.

On behalf of an embarrassed nation, People of Canada, I apologize for this idiotic and wholly unnecessary attack. Please leave the back channels open. We the People of progressive persuasion stand with you.”

Comments

While I totally agree with the tone and spirit of this piece. I spotted some glaring errors and omissions below.

Can you spot them?

“They’re with us in NATO, they fought alongside us in World War I, World War II, Korea, the Gulf War, the Bosnian War, Afghanistan, the Kosovo War and came to our defense after 9/11. There was that one time when Canada took a pass on one of our wars: Vietnam. Turned out to be a good call.”

The author makes it sound like CANADA joined the USA in fighting these 2 World Wars.

The Reality is the Opposite:
But Britain and Canada did thank the USA for jumping in there eventually.

Your Honor,
Thank you for your very kind words.
As a Canadian married to an American it’s hard for us to understand this “war”.
We have been crossing the longest free border in the world all our lives. A drivers license was taken as sufficient ID. Our parents would just say “there our kids in the back seat”. Look at how we are now, having to worry about possible terrorists crossing from there to here, here to there.
It’s true that most Canadians want to be there for others in need and we are, with far less resources than the USA.
I’m proud to be Canadian. We do want to be fair with trade practices that will be binding by all three countries. Can Trump be trusted with any deals he makes? That is very questionable!
This is unfortunate for the USA , Mexico and Canada.
The so called deal with Mexico has not been worked out on paper, many issues are yet to be resolved.
Canada has to take a long look at our marketing boards, it’s time for a change. On the other side, USA should be cutting subsidies to farmers.
The trade deficit favours the USA over Canada.
We don’t complain. We are Friends.
USA owes Trillions to foreign countries;
China, Japan, Germany, Canada and many more.
What would the USA do if China or Japan decided to raise the interest rate. Between these two countries a .1% increase would amount to Billions on the 3-4 Trillion owed to them. Canada only represents less than 100 Billion. I have digressed,
Canadians and most Americans will always be good Friends.
It’s time to settle these petty issues.
Canada does know that something has to be built into the Trade Agreement to stroke Trump.
Most of us, in the know, sadly laugh.
Again, thank you for your kind words.
Rod Halvorsenrodneyh@shaw.ca

Many Canadian-Guyanese who I’ve talked to have complained that the “Canadians” that Americans refer to are whites, and vice versa.

A white American would have no issue with a white Canadian crossing the border without ID, but as soon as it’s a Jamaican, Haitian, or immigrant, every one of the Americans start to act racist and accuse them of being criminals by nature. It’s even worse for Hindus and Muslims as they are lumped into one nefarious stereotype that relates to 9/11.

America is racist, Canada is racist and every white country has been targeting mostly Blacks and brown skin people.

Time marches on since a Trade Agreement was put into place. Just re-negotiate All Trade Agreements now in force and get one that is equal and Balanced to either Party. As an Guyanese American and forever a Friend to all Canadians,this is all I ask for and let life go on!

As a proud Canadian military who serve his country for 40 years, I said many thanks. I fought side by side with US troops in Afghanistan and never I will despite your country. You were, are and will be our closer allies in all points. This unpleasant situation will pass as leaders change in near future, that’s all. Thank you for your support and wish the best in your future endeavours, sir.

We thank you right back, America, for being who you are. Since my husband and I are Snowbirds, this article touched us specifically, as we have enormous love and ties with both countries. We Canadians have deep, unspoken feelings for the US. As children, most of us grew up thinking of America as our older and more experienced big brother who always had our back. We realize that we are different in some ways, but not in those that matter. Our culture, economy and ideals overlap on so many levels that the development of intertwining ties was inevitable between our two nations. We have evolved together through the years sharing more than a border, and although history has at times taken us on different paths, we have always found our way back to common ground.

This trade war doesn’t make a lot of sense. We are more than friends and neighbours, and yet we feel like we are being treated as the enemy. Canadians are the known peacekeepers. We are about respect, about fair play, and about finding solutions that benefit all parties, so this treatment hit us hard. We realize that leaders are not always the reflective voice of the people they represent, and this article reassured us of that. Hopefully this too shall pass and we can go back to openly being best allies, and everything else good that we are. We have a lot more future to build together.
Elaine Forder
Proud Canadian and part-time American

Prime Minister tried several times to speak to the U.S. president on sidelines, and it’s this rejection that Trump was referring to in his public comments

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tried more than once to speak with President Donald Trump on the sidelines of UN meetings, a U.S. official says, but Trump avoided the Canadian leader because of a standoff in trade talks.

It was those attempted informal discussions that Trump was referring to when he said he refused to meet Trudeau, rather than a request for a formal bilateral sit-down meeting, which the Canadians said they did not make.

One such attempted encounter led to a brief handshake, with Trump remaining seated when approached by the prime minister.

The president added new pressure to trade talks Wednesday when he took aim at Trudeau and the Canadians, saying he won’t make the deal they’re seeking, that he doesn’t like Canada’s representative and that he might apply auto tariffs to the northern nation. Trudeau responded briefly on Thursday.

“The Americans are finding that the negotiations are tough because Canadians are tough negotiators, as we should be,” the prime minister told reporters in Ottawa. “A good and fair deal is still very possible. But we won’t sign a bad deal for Canada or for Canadians.”

‘Very Unhappy’

In a lengthy press conference Wednesday, Trump said he rejected meeting Trudeau because of trade talks.

The countries are working to reach a deal on how to update the North American Free Trade Agreement, after the U.S. and Mexico reached their own deal last month.

“We’re very unhappy with the negotiations and the negotiating style of Canada,” Trump said. “Canada has treated us very badly. Canada has a long way to go.”

He said both that there’s a “good chance still” that the U.S. and Canada will reach a deal, but also that “probably or possibly” they won’t.

The president repeated a threat to impose auto tariffs if a deal can’t be reached. “If Canada doesn’t make a deal with us, we’re going to make a much better deal — we’re going to tax the cars that come in.”

He was asked twice if he’d quit the current NAFTA pact, and didn’t say. The Trump administration could face barriers in Congress if it tries to advance a deal without Canada.

Guyana-born, Hassan Yussuff, a Canadian labour leader who sits on the government’s NAFTA advisory panel, chalked up Trump’s comments to “bluster” and said a NAFTA deal is actually “pretty well close to getting done.”

Trump cited dairy as a sticking point, but Yussuff said the Canadians need a guarantee it won’t be hit with new tariffs if they sign a deal.

“Canada wants some assurances going forward that the president will not continue to use tariffs to harass our industries simply because he’s mad at our prime minister, after we sign an agreement.” Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress told BNN Bloomberg television Thursday.

Yussuff continued: “This president has always been a bit of a showboat and I think Canadians have become accustomed to this.”

Hi Trevor,
I’m white, I’m a teacher and I live in Toronto. My students have been of every shade of skin colour existing and it isn’t an issue. In my last classroom, there was only 1 white person…me. For nearly 800 students, there were only 8 white teachers in the school. Again, not an issue. Kids are incredibly accepting unless they’re taught otherwise. Tim Horton’s in our city is the great meeting place of every ethnic group with varied languages and skin tones. It’s such a natural thing. I apologize for more rural locations in Canada who haven’t had the opportunity to live the multicultural experience. My pride in Canada is in our diversity but perhaps it is our city as opposed to our country. I may even be wrong about Toronto. I’m sorry that you don’t get the same treatment as whites. There is no excuse for that ever. We have to do better.

Writing like you’re promoting an advertisement for Canada?
No way that I will ever migrate to Canada, even Toronto as it’s the feminist and gay capitol of North America:

Many of you Liberals only act tolerant of minorities until they are Christians; that’s where the tolerance stops.

I’ve met Pastor David Lynn when he was preaching at Stabroek Market around six years ago. He’s not a homophobe and he doesn’t preach hate, yet Liberals and feminists and LGBQTXYZ claim that he’s a hate preacher, and they use intimidation and violence against him.

What I’ve noticed from many Canadians and Americans is the Orwellian way they say things. Preach tolerance, but they express violence towards peaceful members of society like Pastors. Preach “war on terror”, but invade and terrorise sovereign and poorer countries that had nothing to do with terrorism.

So why did the citizens and police of Canada infringe on the free rights of the Black Pastor who was only chanting “God Loves You”? He’s a well-known Pastor of Canada.

And from what some have told me last night, many minorities attend schools that have no future for them. Areas like Thorncliff Park, Regent Park, Rexdale and Keelesdale are mainly low earner communities, but nearby wealthier areas have mainly white students who become wealthy as adults, while minorities end up unemployed, in jail or dead from gang warfare.

Help my close one as she is a targeted individual in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are targeting her because she is Back and a social activist against corruption.

The Toronto Public Library blacklisted her books because they want her to become financially destitute. My close one is a talented woman but because she is not Wonderbread the racists who work the public sector of Canada’s bureaucracy have targeted her.

You should hear her speak on her ordeal with Toronto Public Library. The Canadian government provides thousands of dollars in monetary gifts and promotional material for authors, but refuse to support her (Valerie).

To all of you overseas Guyanese who left Guyana decades ago and only support the white people’s social immorality: STAY IN AMERICA. DON’T COME HERE.
Homosexuality is illegal in Guyana. None of you can change that. We don’t want any of that nastiness and ungodly filth here. Leave that for the white man and white woman.

We don’t want any gay white man or white woman molesting our young ones on vacay. Guyana isn’t going to be some resort for homos to molest children. We as Guyanese CONDEMN every white country that tries to shame us for not legalising homosexuality.

Our Great President Granger has stated that we should be careful of what we emulate from developed countries. Guyanese wouldn’t like gay men and gay women having free reign to molest babies and young children for the LGBTQ movement.

Clyde Duncan, STAY IN AMERICA and be merry with the homos, lesbians, pedophiles and animal fornicators! We are poor here in Guyana, but we don’t lose the faith so that we end up in hell on Judgment Day.

Canada is intolerant of Christian Pastors even if they are Jamaican. It seems like Canada legalises gays and lesbians to be naked for children, but they get violent on respectable men like a Pastor, a man working for God and our Lord Jesus Christ, Yeshua.

I’m finding this to be absolutely hilarious because your son Robbie was my neighbor and he is the most inconsiderate biggest jerk I’ve ever met his kids were at my driveway in my yard and my driveway 7:30 at night screaming hollering because he does not watch them is not a good parent he allows his children to go up and down the street unattended almost getting run over several times the little boy running across the street all the time nearly getting hit all the time because he is not a good parent much less a good a neighbor he told me to get used to it get used to the fact that he doesn’t care to watch his children and call the police on me because he feels threatened because he knows he’s a Big Jack and oh yeah I’ll have you arrested and oh yeah I did and then have me arrested because I smoke marijuana I have a medical marijuana and because he’s friends with a cop that he went to school with I tell you what it’s people like that neighbors like that people like that why bad things happen to people like that just makes you wonder if you can stop wondering why that things happened to people like that violating my privacy violating my privacy and my home nobody has that right nobody has that right but your son thinks he does and I hope I put on a big show for everyone and I’ll act crazy as hell if I want to in the privacy of my home any day every day as much as I damn well please that piece of crap son of yours that’s a loser that doesn’t ever work should be sitting in jail King smokes weed he sells drugs I’m tired of people doing this to me because so-and-so know so-and-so I know God so there